RUTHERFORD, NJ, 12 August 2003 — Marvin Lewis and Carson Palmer made forgettable NFL debuts on Sunday.
The new head coach and Heisman Trophy winner were no help to the Cincinnati Bengals in their preseason opener. They bumbled in a 28-13 loss to the New York Jets played through a steady rain.
Palmer had two interceptions returned for touchdowns, and the Bungles had their share of miscues — a botched field goal and extra point attempt, two personal foul penalties and four total turnovers.
When asked whether there was one thing he needed to improve upon, Palmer had a simple answer: “Everything.”
Lewis became the third active black coach in the NFL when he took over for Dick LeBeau in January, hoping to turn around a franchise that has not had a winning season since 1990.
They have a long way to go.
“We knew there would be mistakes, and now I’m excited about watching the video tape and improving on these mistakes,” Lewis said.
Palmer, who won the Heisman as a senior at Southern California last season, entered the game at the start of the second half and led the Bengals to their two scoring drives.
But he also had two passes intercepted and returned for scores.
Trailing 14-7 and driving with two minutes remaining, Palmer was intercepted by Wes Bautovich, who went 78 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-7 with 1:44 remaining. On the next possession, Troy Grant intercepted Palmer and went 36 yards for a touchdown to increase the Jets’ lead. Palmer threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chesley Borders with 8 seconds remaining to cap the scoring.
He finished 12-of-22 for 140 yards in his NFL debut.
Palmer is content learning behind Jon Kitna, who went 4-of-6 for 24 yards in one quarter with a fumbled snap that led to the Jets’ first score.
“Jon is the best quarterback on this team, and I’m only up here cause it goes with being the No. 1 pick and Heisman Trophy winner,” Palmer said.
The Jets (1-1) were sloppy, too, but took advantage of Kitna’s miscue. On the third play of the game Kitna fumbled the snap and defensive tackle Jason Ferguson recovered.
